The property arm of China’s largest conglomerate, Fosun, has partnered with Sydney-based Propertylink to buy an office tower in North Sydney for $116.5 million.
Fosun Property said the acquisition of the 73 Miller Street office property with Propertylink is to be completed by February. The 14,672 square metre office tower space will become part of the property portfolio held by Fosun’s insurance arm.
The property is 100 per cent leased with the NSW Government as an anchor tenant, and follow’s Shanghai-based conglomerate Fosun International’s recently completed acquisition of local oil and gas firm Roc Oil for $439m.
“After the acquisition of ROC Oil in November 2014, we are happy to see that we can contribute more to the Australian economy” Fosun Group chairman Guo Guangchang said in a statement.
“The Australian property market is well known for its stable growth and transparency. It is also the reason why Australia attracts so much attention from Asian investors including from China” he said.
Fosun has been on an extended overseas buying spree, snapping up an array of businesses including Portuguese insurance company Caixa Segurous, and One Chase Manhattan Plaza, a 60-storey tower in Lower Manhattan for US$725 million.
Last week, French regulators cleared the way for Chinese conglomerate Fosun to buy the holiday resorts group Club Med.
The Sydney deal comes on the heels of Dalian Wanda Group’s purchase of the Gold Fields property across the harbour at Circular Quay for $415 million. Wanda has pledged to invest $1 billion to develop a mixed use property in the Sydney CBD.
Xu Xiaoliang, Vice President of Fosun Group & President of Fosun Property said the deal marked a significant step in Fosun Property’s global strategy.
“Australia has been a very attractive market for property investment” said Mr Xu. “We do hope that we can get more deals done in the future."
Chinese investment in Australian commercial property has more than doubled in the past year, with more than $2.5 billion invested according to figures compiled by The Australian from property services firm DTZ.